Dissertation
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Dissertation A Microethnographic Discourse Analysis of the Conditions of Alienation, Engagement, Pleasure, and Jouissance from a Three-year Ethnographic Study of Middle School Language Arts Classrooms Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Robert Craig Heggestad II, M.Ed., B.A. Graduate Program in Education: Teaching & Learning The Ohio State University 2018 Dissertation Committee: Dr. David Bloome, Advisor Dr. Caroline Clark Dr. George Newell Dr. Amy Shuman Abstract This theoretical dissertation explores the constructs of alienation, engagement, pleasure, and jouissance as they relate to research and theory on and in classroom education, in particular in middle school language arts classrooms. The research questions ask: First, how is the construct of alienation conceptualized and made manifest in the classroom and how do these empirical findings of the condition of alienation refine the theoretical construct of alienation? Second, how is the construct of engagement conceptualized and made manifest in the classroom and how do these empirical findings of the condition of engagement refine the theoretical construct of engagement? Third, how is the construct of pleasure conceptualized and made manifest in the classroom and how do these empirical findings of the condition of pleasure refine the theoretical construct of pleasure? And fourth, how is the construct of jouissance conceptualized and made manifest in the classroom and how do these empirical findings of the condition of jouissance refine the theoretical construct of jouissance? The research questions are answered through four case studies. The dissertation takes an ethnographic perspective towards research, utilizing qualitative and ethnographic methods of data collection and analysis. Research was conducted on fifty-nine sixth and seventh-grade language arts students and five teachers across three years and four classrooms focusing broadly on student literacy practices. Over the three years of the study, eighty-two participant observations were conducted and over fifty-five hours of class time were video recorded. Data include video recordings, audio recordings, student and teacher interviews, student and teacher artifacts, and participant observation fieldnotes. Data were selected for their ability to refine extant ii theoretical constructs of alienation, engagement, pleasure, and jouissance and were analyzed through microethnographic discourse analysis (cf., Bloome et al., 2008). The theoretical construct of alienation is refined through Lacan (2004/2014; 1991/2007; 1966/2006; 1992) and his idea of surplus jouissance to argue that not all products created in school are alienating, by utilizing the notion of storytelling rights (Shuman, 1986) to discuss ownership claims, and introducing Bakhtin’s (1990) theory of aesthetic subjecthood via authorship to combat alienation. The theoretical construct of engagement is refined by critiquing the dominant definitions of engagement through an application of procedural display (Bloome, Puro, & Theodorou, 1989) to argue that what is often claimed to be engagement is not. The theoretical construct of pleasure is refined by drawing on Freire (1968/1993) and Bakhtin (1990; 1963/1984a) to suggest the pedagogic and emancipatory potential of laughter and pleasure. The theoretical construct of jouissance is introduced into discussions around education and refined by suggesting that jouissance is not an individual state but socially constructed. iii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my family—to my beautiful and amazing wife, Krystal, and my sons Robby, Sawyer, and Eliot—I love you all from the bottom of my heart and cannot express how vital each one of you were to this endeavor. You are the reason I started on this journey and your support, encouragement, and understanding along the way will never be forgotten. iv Acknowledgments I must first thank my dissertation committee for working with me throughout these years and, frankly, putting up with me. Thank you Caroline Clark, George Newell, and Amy Shuman for all your work, patience, advice, and encouragement. I would also like to give a special thanks to my advisor, David Bloome, for his steadfast encouragement, keen insights, and copious editing. I thank The Ohio State University and the Department of Teaching and Learning for their academic and financial support as I worked on this dissertation. I thank the Center for Video and Ethnographic Discourse Analysis for its role in helping organize and analyze the large amount of video recordings conducted. Finally, I would like to thank Mrs. Green, Mrs. Lewis, and all of the student participants for allowing me to intrude in their classrooms, ask endless questions, and generally be a bother. You were all a privilege to work with and I give you my sincerest gratitude. v Vita 2006………………………………………B.A. English, Wittenberg University 2007-2009………………………………..Marketing Manager/Secondary Analyst Parkside Lending, LLC, San Francisco, CA 2009-2012……………………………….English Language Arts Teacher, Cornerstone Christian Academy, Willoughby, OH 2011………………………………………M.Ed. Curriculum & Instruction, Cleveland State University 2012-2016………………………………..University Graduate Associate, The Ohio State University 2013-2016………………………………..Editorial Assistant, Journal of Literacy Research, The Ohio State University; the University of Arizona 2014-2017………………………………..Instructor, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Education, Teaching and Learning vi Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ ii Vita ..................................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... ix List of Transcripts ................................................................................................................ x List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1: Introduction, Background, and Rationale ......................................................... 1 Research Problem ........................................................................................................... 2 Research Questions ........................................................................................................ 2 Overview of Research Design ........................................................................................ 4 Theoretical Framing ....................................................................................................... 6 Definitions ...................................................................................................................... 7 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature ........................................................................... 17 Alienation ..................................................................................................................... 17 Engagement .................................................................................................................. 25 Pleasure ......................................................................................................................... 28 Jouissance ..................................................................................................................... 30 Chapter 3: Methodology .................................................................................................... 35 Framing of Methodology .............................................................................................. 36 Overview of Research Design ...................................................................................... 40 vii Participants ................................................................................................................... 56 Data Collection ............................................................................................................. 61 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 73 Chapter 4: Findings ........................................................................................................... 81 Alienation ..................................................................................................................... 82 Engagement ................................................................................................................ 107 Pleasure ....................................................................................................................... 118 Jouissance ................................................................................................................... 147 Chapter 5: Discussion ...................................................................................................... 207 Alienation ................................................................................................................... 207 Engagement ...............................................................................................................